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Step back, Spielberg;
Orsino’s on his way

By: Mark Moorehead

February 23, 2008

Dedicated students of cinematography
routinely find the challenge of
making a film to be all-consuming—no
time for much of anything else.

Not so for Kyrene Corridor resident
Aidan Orsino, who has more
projects rolling than you’d expect
from a fantasy team of such
directorial greats as Kubrick,
Coppola and Scorsese.

During a recent five-day period, his
ultra-energized schedule included
recording the complete dialog of an
Obama-for-President rally in
downtown Phoenix, attending the
advance screening of a
soon-to-be-released major film,
solving computer problems for a
group of teachers and unlocking
I-Phones for some appreciative
technology clients, all while
attending school full time.

If you’re thinking this is a typical
student working his way through
college, you’d be off by a few
years. Aidan is 12 and attends
Kyrene Middle School.

In addition to a love of tinkering
with all things electronic, Aidan
wants to become a professional movie
director when he grows up. Until
then he’ll settle for finding
one-of-a-kind projects that help
build his resume.

Last week Aidan entered the Almost
Famous Film Festival’s 48-Hour
Short-Film Challenge, sponsored by
Ball Boy Productions and Majerle’s
Sports Grill.

This is a regional competition that
attracts filmmakers from Arizona,
California, Utah, Nevada and New
Mexico. Contestants are given two
days to complete a film that is two
to seven minutes in length,
including these requirements:
Miscalculation must be the theme;
“Are you sure that’s it” must be
included as a line of dialogue; and
The turning of a key must be
injected somewhere into the story.

Not one to approach such a challenge
unprepared, Aidan attended the
International Short Film Festival on
Valentine’s Day to check out the
competition before taking the lens
cap off his own camera.

Instead of being intimidated, Aidan
described what he liked and didn’t
like about the various short films.
His candid responses could have come
from an experienced critic. But that
wasn’t courage speaking—it was
passion. Aidan hopes to be accepted
to the film school at the University
of Southern California, which he
says would be an awesome place to
learn a lot more about film making.

Calm and polite, Aidan speaks softly
with confidence and deference. He
strikes one as a serious young man
with many talents. He calls his
first film a “dramedy,” a
combination of drama and comedy that
is short and to the point—somewhat
like him.

Relating to his film, Aidan seems to
have had an experienced director’s
comprehension of what was wanted.

“It involves several doors, a key
and a blind man who makes a mistake”
says Aidan.

As if the two- to seven-minute
requirement weren’t restrictive
enough, Aidan saved space at the end
of his five-minute film for
outtakes, a funny, irreverent
reference to the final moments of
many longer comedies.

While there’s plenty of competition
for the $3,000 top prize (82
contestants submitted entries),
Aidan remains circumspect about the
opportunity. Win or lose, he said,
he’s happy the festival allowed him
to participate, and had a lot of fun
making the film. He even managed to
get the permission of a local
convenience store to allow him to
film on location.

After turning in his completed film,
Aidan attended a brief ceremony at
which he received a certificate for
the youngest entrant in the
organization’s history.

When competition sponsors reminded
him that famed director Steven
Spielberg grew up in Phoenix in the
1960s and began his film career when
he was young, Aidan replied he knew
a lot about Spielberg because he did
a biography on him in third grade.

Spielberg was 14 when he made his
first film, Firelight, with
an eight millimeter camera, Aidan
pointed out.

That film went on to provide the
basis for Close Encounters of the
Third Kind. And that, from
Aidan’s perspective, might be as
good an outcome as a memorable line
from Spielberg’s famed ‘Encounter’:
“It's
better than Goofy Golf!”